3/22/20

I’m still in quarantine and awaiting my results. Coronavirus count - 300k cases worldwide, 12,944 deaths. Over 2 million people have applied for Unemployment benefits this week. I am thankful to have a job and a paycheck. Congress is finalizing a spending bill to send $3k to each family making under a set amount. New Jersey has now gone on lockdown. President trump has given the green light for auto makers to produce ventilators. Curious to see the design that Elon musk comes out with. Italy had almost 800 deaths yesterday. Reports coming out from mayors say the rate may be multiple times higher due to elderly dying at home. The bodies are being carted off in military transports. We’ll see how the markets respond. Nobody knows where the bottom of this is. We are in global recession, fearing global depression.

I've always thought of my job as rock solid, but I'm not completely sure anymore. Elective surgical cases and clinic visits have stopped. My group is starting telehealth, but the decreased efficiency of the schedule and minimal billing due to telephone visits may not even cover overhead costs. This really shows the incredible importance of an emergency fund. If this resolves in a few months, we may be ok. Muni bond funds have taken a big hit, but either way, I'm glad I have bond holdings in my taxable account to draw down from. This is a big risk for people who have all equity in their taxable and bonds in their tax advantaged accounts. In the future, I'm planning to have more treasury holdings. If needed to, I could always draw down my equity portion in my taxable, but I'd be taking a huge hit by selling low. It is incredibly difficult to stay the course at times like this. An IPS is important to keep referencing back to.

Military transport vehicles transporting dead bodies from northern Italy out for cremation.